Ludwig?van?Beethoven（贝多芬）
Ludwig?van?Beethoven?is?one?of?the?world's?most?famous?and?influential?composers?of?classical?music.?His?music?has?been?played?all?over?the?world?for?over?180?years.?However,?there?are?many?people?out?there?left?in?the?dark?about?the?facts,?life,?and?music?of?Beethoven.?In?this?Beginners?Guide?to?Beethoven,?you'll?find?links?to?biographies,?histories,?CD?recommendations,?and?sound?clips?of?Beethoven's?music.
Who?is?Beethoven?
Ludwig?van?Beethoven,?perhaps?the?most?famous?composer?of?all?time,?apart?from?his?other?works,?only?wrote?nine?symphonies.?Compare?that?to?Haydn?and?Mozart,?who,?combined,?wrote?over?150?symphonies!?What?made?Beethoven?special?was?his?successful?attempt?to?break?the?mold?of?the?highly?structured?and?refined?rules?of?classical?period?composition.?Many?view?Beethoven?as?the?bridge?connecting?the?classical?period?to?the?romantic?period.?
Learn?more?about?the?life?of?Beethoven?in?this?profile.
Interesting?Beethoven?Facts
Beethoven's?'Ode?to?Joy'?from?Symphony?No.?9?was?adopted?as?the?European?National?Anthem?in?1972.?
Beethoven's?most?important?patron,?as?well?as?regular?piano?student,?Archduke?Rudolph,?received?eleven?major?dedications?and?four?canons?from?Beethoven.?
Beethoven?set?aside?his?work?on?his?famous?Symphony?No.?5?to?work?on?Symphony?No.?4,?which?means?Symphony?No.?5?is?technically?Symphony?No.?4.
Beethoven’s?Symphonies
It?took?Beethoven?twenty-five?years?to?compose?all?nine?symphonies.?He?was?very?meticulous?about?his?work,?often?reworking?it?many?times?over.?This?obsessive?desire?to?perfect?his?music?may?have?been?caused?in?part?to?his?loss?of?hearing?while?in?his?20’s.?How?could?he?be?taken?seriously?as?a?composer?if?he?couldn’t?hear?his?own?music?Nevertheless,?his?efforts?have?made?a?profound?impact?in?the?world.?Nearly?180?years?later,?orchestras?all?over?the?globe?are?playing?his?symphonies,?people?are?buying?them?on?CDs,?and?millions?of?people?are?listening?to?them?on?television?and?radio.?Beethoven's?Symphony?No.?3?(Eroica),?Symphony?No.?5,?and?Symphony?No.?9?(Ode?to?Joy?or?Choral?Symphony)?are?his?most?famous?symphonies.?
Fryderyk?Franciszek?Chopin（肖邦）
Since?all?that?survives?of?Chopin?is?the?brilliant?music?that?he?wrote,?it's?all?too?easy?to?forget?that?he?was?also?a?great?performer.?He?wrote?difficult?and?innovative?music?so?that?he?could?perform?it?himself.
Chopin’s?father?was?a?French?schoolteacher,?and?his?mother?was?Polish.?He?grew?up?in?Warsaw,?Poland,?and?studied?music?as?a?child,?and?then?at?the?Warsaw?Conservatory?between?1826?and?1829.?He?had?already?published?several?pieces?of?music,?and?during?1829?and?1830?he?became?well-known?as?a?pianist,?giving?concerts?in?Warsaw?and?Vienna.?He?composed?almost?all?of?his?music?for?the?piano?(although?sometimes?with?orchestral?accompaniment).?He?tended?to?write?his?music?actually?at?the?piano,?sometimes?struggling?to?put?his?ideas?onto?paper.?But?he?was?unhappy?in?Poland?and?set?off?on?a?European?tour,?stopping?in?1831?in?Paris,?one?of?the?great?musical?centres?of?Europe.?
Here,?Chopin?was?praised?as?a?musician?by?such?composers?as?Liszt?and?Schumann?,?among?others,?and?rapidly?became?famous.?He?played?mostly?for?private?audiences,?although?he?did?give?a?few?public?performances,?and?he?was?particularly?known?for?his?skill?at?improvising.?He?would?use?many?of?the?musical?ideas?and?styles?from?Polish?folk?music,?and?many?of?his?compositions?are?directly?linked?to?Polish?dances?and?musical?forms,?such?as?the?Mazurka.?Chopin?also?established?himself?as?a?teacher,?and?many?of?his?compositions?were?written?to?be?used?by?his?pupils,?such?as?studies,?preludes,?waltzes,?nocturnes,?mazurkas?and?impromptus.?These?pieces?are?not?perhaps?as?difficult?as?the?larger-scale?works?he?produced?for?concert?performance,?such?as?the?scherzos,?ballades,?sonatas?and?the?barcarolle,?which?were?written?for?himself?to?perform.?
Chopin?was?very?inventive?in?the?way?he?wrote?music.?While?in?form?it?was?often?quite?simple?-?basically?a?tune?and?an?accompaniment?-?it?was?often?full?of?variation?and?interest.?He?used?the?sustaining?pedal?of?the?piano?in?a?way?which?composers?had?not?done?before,?and?produced?a?delicacy?both?when?playing?and?when?composing?which?was?considered?highly?innovative.?This?made?it?very?popular,?and?his?music?was?published?in?Paris,?London?and?Leipzig.?As?a?measure?of?Chopin’s?popularity?and?fame,?when?he?died?of?tuberculosis?in?1849,?3,000?people?attended?his?funeral.